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Young, aggressive and confident, John Juanda is part of Poker’s new breed of
competitors. Not yet 34 years old, Juanda already has 3 World Series of Poker
bracelets, and has earned himself a reputation as one of the toughest
tournament players around.
John Juanda was born in Indonesia, on July 8th, 1971. Juanda was raised in his
native Indonesia, and was a talented athlete throughout his childhood. He was
a very accomplished runner, succeeding at all kinds of races, from 200m
springs to 5km marathons. In 1990, at age 19, John Juanda immigrated to the
United States, and enrolled in Oklahoma State University. He would later
graduate with an MBA from the University of Seattle.
Before he was a Poker champion, Juanda had made quite a name for himself as a
door-to-door salesman. He won awards for his success as a bible salesman, but
in 1996 he became convinced that Poker was to be his career path, and took up
the game.
2001 was to be John Juanda’s breakout year; He won the World Poker Open
Championship and was named the runner-up for Card Player’s Tournament Player
of the Year award. Proving he was no flash in the pan, Juanda backed this
success up with his first WSOP bracelet in 2002, and was named Tournament
Champion of the Year, and again finished as runner-up for Player of the Year.
Building on this momentum, Juanda returned to the WSOP to win 2 more bracelets
in 2003, and in 2004 John reached an incredible 15 final tables.
Not boastful or arrogant, John Juanda plays a very entertaining game of Poker.
While not as creative as Daniel Negreanu, or as aggressive as Gus Hansen,
Juanda has a knack for knowing which cards are coming down, and is blessed
with an impressive gambler’s instinct. Juanda also shows strength is his
versatility; while his favourite game is Hold’em, he has also been successful
in many other forms of Poker.
Although he currently resides in California, Juanda still loves his native
Indonesia. Away from poker, John enjoys traveling, reading, and almost any
outdoor activity. He is also involved with the collaboration of great players
who have formed the site Full Tilt Poker. Once he accomplishes his goals as a
professional poker player, he hopes to return to school and become Dr. Juanda.
With his intelligent crafty play, it’s likely only a matter of time before
John reaches any goals he may have set for himself.
John Juanda's Official Site
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